God long ago drew a circle in the sand exactly around the spot where you are standing now. – Sufi saying

USA: The Best 3 Mile Hike in the World

As a little girl my family took a spring trip through the South West. Bryce Canyon National Park was on the itinerary. We drove through and saw the park, but with a gaggle kids under the age of 13, there wasn’t a lot of hiking included. Looking at the canyon from afar, I was so enchanted by Bryce that I made point to remember the name and promised myself that as an adult I would come back and hike into the canyon. Here we are.

Considering that I had been planning this for years, you can imagine that I wasn’t going to be happy with a jaunt down just any old trail. Luckily the hiking map noted a trail with the title “The best 3 mile hike in the world” — decision made. This trail encompassed Queen’s Landing and the Navajo Trail. I was slightly skeptical at first. The canyon was beautiful from the top rim, but nothing uber breathtaking yet (I have high standards at this point in the trip).

We walked the ½ mile across the rim to the beginning of Queen’s Landing and my problem was solved. The canyon opened up into a beautiful expanse of sky, red dirt, hoodoos, and plateau, and the trail seemed to lead right down into the center of it all. Up, down, around a hoodoo, through a carved doorway, across a dry creek bed, and you were at the other side on the Navajo trail. The huge expanse had suddenly become a tight, super steep canyon filled with small switchbacks and vertical sides. This part of the trail is known as Wall Street, although it was nothing like the Wall Street that I left in NY. Of the two, I think this is one I prefer.